UNISON Special Delegate Conference 2021: Day 1

 

Today was the first day of the virtual (for obvious reasons) UNISON delegate conference. It will finish on Thursday. Last year there was no conference due to Covid, so it seems a long, long time since we had our last conference. 

The "conference" is taking place in the TUC Congress House with the UNISON lay presidential team, a few officers and video technicians. Delegates and nearly all speakers joined virtually. 

The day started at 8.30am with an NEC pre meeting to discuss any urgent business.  That went quite smoothly. The conference kicked off at 9.30am and so far it seemed to have gone quite well with only a few minor electronic glitches.  

The President Josie Bird, gave a powerful and personal address, firstly thanking her family for all their support during her extended term while then making a direct attack on the Tory Government for all their failures over Covid and the recovery. 

I was pleased to see our current General Secretary Christina and our recently retired GS Dave Prentis, Dave was there to receive his award of honorary life membership of UNISON. 

I will blog further on SDC but was made up that it today passed the branch resource review motion and after 10 years of endless debate, we can finally move on and modernise the way we support our branches. 

Greater London UNISON Regional Council AGM 2021

 

Today was the Annual General Meeting of the UNISON Greater London Regional Council. It was held virtually with a shortened agenda but mirrored what happened when we had past physical meetings (sort of).

UNISON is the largest union in London with around 130,000 members. I was pleased to be re-elected unopposed with the rest of the Regional Convenor team this year (and last year).

Our elected lay National President, Newcastle Council worker, Josie Bird, was our first key note speaker. Josie spoke passionately to the AGM about the contempt this Government treats the working class & the personal difficulties, she and many others had experienced in "lock down" home schooling her children while trying to carry out a demanding job. 

As a UNISON NEC member I have been present at a few meetings being expertly chaired by Josie when her very young son has decided to join his Mum on zoom! It didn't happen today. 

Out next speaker was our  new UNISON general secretary, Christina McAnea who 
thanked all UNISON public service members & activists for their work during #COVID19. 

Also, despite being from Glasgow, she has now lived in #London for longer than anywhere else, and she had been so pleased to get support of this Region in her election. 

After a speaker on the vital importance on Climate Change, there was the regional annual report, my financial convenor report, motions (all very respectful including debates on those ruled out of order) and AOB. Elections for other positions took place via email afterwards. 

While I really miss such meetings, when held in real life (and of course with a few drinks and meal afterwards) I thought it went well and many thanks to our Regional Convenor, Yvonne Green, who chaired the meeting magnificently, with her very calm, very polite, inclusive but no nonsense manner. 

I shall look forward to a more traditional "rough and tumble" UNISON AGM next year! (fingers crossed)

UNISON National Delegate Conference 2020 (Not)

This is great picture of our UNISON Presidential team. From left is Senior Vice President, Sian Stockham (Support Care worker Wales); President, Josie Bird, (Local Government Newcastle) and James Anthony (Nurse in Birmingham).

James tweeted the photograph this morning and reminded us that today would have been the first day of the UNISON National Delegate Conference 2020. It was not to be due to Covid-19.

Next year....

Totally fed up of losing General Elections: UNISON NEC

On Wednesday there was a post general election meeting of the UNISON National Executive Committee at our headquarters in Euston. I hold one of the two elected NEC seats for UNISON members who work in the UK Voluntary Sector and Housing Associations.

The NEC was supposed to  have met last Thursday 12 December but for obvious reasons it was postponed until this week.

The General election result dominated the meeting. In order to move business along, our President, Josie Bird, asked NEC members not to make detailed arguments why they thought Labour had lost the election since we need more time to reflect and need to concentrate on what to do next. However, many members, particularly those who lived in the previously rock solid Labour heartlands did give chapter and verse on the calamity.

I gave my pennyworth as well. Firstly, I made a joke since everyone was so depressed. I had stolen it from a colleague of a certain age, who had said the 2019 result was the worse since 1983, but at least in 1983 we had a really good music scene to lighten the defeat. I pointed out that this defeat was actually the worse since 1931 and I have no idea what music they had at that time.

My point was that I have no firm views on who should be the next leader but I want someone who can unite the Party and win the next general election.

Where I live in Newham, East London (population 359,000), a report this morning from housing charity Shelter found that 1 in every 24 of residents are homeless. 1:24!

In Newham once you take into account the cost of housing, 50% of families with children live in poverty. 50% of families!

We need a Labour government in power to tackle homelessness and poverty. No if's or buts.

We have lost 4 general elections in a row. I am totally fed up of us losing general elections. 

UNISON newly elected Presidential team 2019/2020

Congratulations to Josie Bird from @NorthernUNISON elected @unisontweets President. Sian Stockham @sian_aber elected Senior Vice President and @JamesAnthonyRN elected Junior Vice President. Great team! #UNISON #NEC #UNDC19.

The team were all elected with overwhelming majorities by the newly elected UNISON NEC. Josie was 37 to 23 which is a decisive result.

I am so, so pleased we have such a strong team elected to represent our union which is clearly supported by our lay member NEC.

It was sad to say goodbye to my NEC colleagues (from all sides of the political spectrum) who were not re-elected or were retiring. 

Reminder: "This is Palestine" UNISON event tomorrow Wednesday 25 January

I must visit Palestine but in the meanwhile I will listen, learn and enquire from those who have. Email Phil if you are going so he can order refreshments

"This is Palestine" meeting for UNISON Members about solidarity with and current situation in Palestine at our National Headquarters in Euston, London 6.30pm Wednesday 25 January 2017

Looking forward to chairing this meeting. Please make sure you email Phil (p.thompson@unison.co.uk) if you want to attend. 

Why union branches have to follow the money...

Picture from last weeks packed Greater London workshop on branch finance in the UNISON centre. NEC Chair of the Finance Committee, Josie Bird, led the training supported by National and Regional officers.

The aims of the training were:-

• To understand the principles of activity-based budgeting (ABB) 
• Discuss the benefits of activity-based budgeting to your branch
• Consider how OLBA functions can help support the budgeting process
• To identify the next steps for activity-based budgeting within your branch

It was an exceptional turnout for a training on branch finance. It used to be the case in some branches that financial planning and budgeting wasn't all that important. They would just role over the last years accounts and add a bit for inflation. Thankfully this is no longer the case in most branches (I hope). The entire union movement is under attack by this Government and we have to make sure that all our money is used effectively to defend us.

I was there as Regional Finance conveyor. I closed the training by thanking the all those who helped organise this meeting and especially my NEC comrade, Josie Bird. I am proud that my union grows its rank and file lay activists, so they can take on such positions of responsibility.

I also pointed out I used to be a treasurer of a branch that had hundreds of thousands of pounds in reserves, which was very scary for someone who didn't have a finance background. I wish then I had the kit and support that is now on offer.

At the best of times it is vital that we have sound financial governance, never mind nowadays, the worse of times, when we need to make sure that every penny we have is well spent.

We must never forget either that our funds do not belong to the "union" nor to the "branches" they belong to our members and it is our absolute duty to make sure that they are spend properly and solely in their interests.

Picture of  London Regional Secretary, Linda Perks, leading discussion on workshop outcomes.

UNISON NDC 12: Branch Resources Review

If you are not a member of UNISON or a trade union then the chances are you are not going to be interested in this post. If you are a member of UNISON...then the chances are you are not going to be that interested either! Which is a shame because the future funding arrangement of our union is really important.

On Thursday evening I went to one of the two briefings on "Branch Resources Review" ably chaired by North West regional convener, Diane Kelly, together with my fellow NEC members Mike Hayes, Josie Bird and Elizabeth Cameron.  As well as Sotirios Loizou, Regional & Branch Development Officer and Steve Tasker, Director of Finance.

On average each UNISON branch receives back 23% of its members subscriptions. While the basic rate is 20% it varies due to geographical spread, reserves, whether you represent multi-employers or not and participate in our internal democracy (such as turning up to conference). The highest is 31% while the lowest is 17%.

UNISON has around 1000 branches and income of £170 million per year. This is a lot of money. There has been a growth in branch reserves from £33 million in 2002 to £55 million. However, most of these reserves earn an appalling rate of interest. Some £45 million of reserves only earns £58,000 (0.12%) interest per year. Which is just silly. UNISON estimates that if we invested these funds collectively (while ownership still remaining with branches) that we would earn at least £1 million extra per year!  Which to me is also a no brainier.

The review is also looking at encouraging branches (where it makes sense) to share resources and facilities with each other. Getting the money right is probably the most important thing the union can do. If we don't get this right then everything else we want to do is under threat.

As a former branch treasurer, current secretary and regional finance convener I thought the fringe went well but there were a few unhappy folk who seemed to me to carp and moan somewhat unnecessarily. Ironically they reminded me of a couple of tenant residents meetings  I've attended in the past where I was in the firing line because as you know - all council officers are useless, overpaid and forget who are paying their wages etc. Now I know people are worried about change but in a trade union setting I found such criticism to be honest - pretty off. Anyway, onwards and forwards.

Colombia Peace Campaign

This presentation to the UNISON International Seminar 2012 was by Mariela Kohan (left), Director of “Justice for Columbia” and Chaired by Josie Bird, NEC member. Columbia is still the most dangerous place in the world to be a trade unionist. 70% of all such murders take place in Columbia.

The new government claims that right wing militias have been disarmed. However, trade unionists and human rights activists are still assassinated and others threatened. While many are imprisoned without trial on “preventative custody” orders accused of “rebellion”. JFC was set up by the TUC in 2002. All major unions support it and 80 MPs/Peers are “Parliamentary Friends of Columbia”.

JFC has recently launched its “Peace Campaign”. What many people do not realise is that the chief problem in Columbia is the bitter 50 year old “civil war” between the Government and the FARC, not “drugs”. JFC hope that the campaign will help bring about a “Northern Ireland” style peace process in Columbia.